This week’s celebrity naked photos scandal embodies everything we’ve been discussing on this blog about the balance between technology and privacy. The one good thing about this week’s leaks is that the general public seems willing to view those who have been hacked as victims (and it doesn’t seem as if they will suffer any damage to their reputations because of the leak). That being said, these embarrassing photos are in the public sphere and while A-list Hollywood celebrities can overcome this, I doubt people like you and me would be so lucky.
So let me start by saying that I am most definitely not a tech savvy person. However, but according to Kim Lachance Shandrow, it seems that the iCloud’s “Find My Phone” feature aka the Kill Switch, was the weak link that hackers were able to exploit. This will not be a surprise to anyone who follows this blog: our June 20th post clearly points out that
“However, despite its apparent benefits, did you know that this kill switch has one major drawback? Using it would make the information on your phone less secure because it makes it easier for hackers to remotely disable your smartphone. This is the reason why the CTIA has refused to automatically enable this feature on all smartphones. ”
Despite this, the kill switch is becoming more ubiquitous. More and more states are requiring that all smartphones have kill switch and by next July, all smartphones in the United State will have this option. Given the exposed hacking risk, does that mean that you should just disable the kill switch on your phone – i.e. prioritizing your privacy over your very expensive phone?
Well, not quite. Shandrow highlights a few things you can do to give you increase your ability to protect your privacy while still enjoying the benefits of the kill switch.
1. Use AppleID feature called “two-step verification”
2. Disable iCloud on your iPhone, iPad and/or Mac computer.
3. Create a new hacker-resistant password.
4. Delete the embarrassing photos you want no one to see from your photo stream. (Actually, I’d say if you absolutely must take naked selfies, then maybe a regular camera may be your best option.)
Even with these new beefed up security measures you have to always be mindful that when it comes to your data, there is a war of attrition going on between the tech companies and the hackers. And, let’s just be honest, sometimes (like this week) the hackers will win. And let’s not forget that there is another simultaneous onging war to protect our digital information from the government. At least on that front the Supreme Court gave the general public a huge win when it unanimous ruled that cell phones are protected by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. So, police must “get a warrant” before searching a cell phone seized after an arrest.
